Avalanche
by KaraLee713
Summary: PreTwilight. The title sucks, but Kate and Tony get stuck out in the snow. Tate!
1. Chapter 1

Title: Avalanche

Summary: Pre-Twilight. Tony and Kate get stuck out in the snow. Tate!

Disclaimer: They are not mine.

Author's Note: I know, not a very original title, but whatever. I don't know _anything_ about skiing. At all. Even though I live in New Hampshire, and skiing's the favorite pastime of almost everybody around here, I've never been. Feel free to correct me on terms or anything like that.

Author's Note 2: I tried to look up the world's longest chairlift for the sake of posterity, and it said the maximum height was around 15,000 feet. However, I think they meant it goes 15,000 feet above sea level, and actual length or distance up a mountain was not discussed. I don't know how long they usually are, or if my story is even feasible… but it's my story so ha! I do know that New Hampshire does _not_ have one of the world's longest chairlifts, but it does in my world! I will be open to correction on any other factual errors.

This is another weird story of mine, and something like it's probably been done to death, but I hope you can have fun with it anyway. Please enjoy and please review!

--------------------

Kate stomped her feet, and hugged herself a little tighter.

"Jesus it's cold!"

She, Tony, Gibbs, and Ducky were in New Hampshire, somewhere in the White Mountains. Kate had lost track of exactly where after the fourteenth or fifteenth "quaint little town" they had driven through. You can only look at so many maple trees before they all blend together. They had flown in and landed at the nearest airport, which still left about eighty miles to the alleged crime scene. A marine had been found in his room, in a towel, at the ski resort he was staying in.

Tony waggled his eyebrows. "There are ways we could warm up, Kate."

Too cold to play the game, Kate ignored him.

"Gibbs, can we please go inside now? He was found in his room, not outside!"

Gibbs didn't respond, but continued to look around, taking in the log cabin style building and the surrounding wilderness. After a lengthy pause, he nodded in the direction of the building and began trudging through the snow towards it.

"Finally!" Kate said, as they entered the building. She shrugged off her jacket and brushed some of the snow off it. She pulled off her hat and shook her head to rid herself of hat-hair.

Tony watched and said, "You know, Kate, you look good with your hair mussed."

"Shove it, Tony."

They arrived in Lieutenant Richard Stevenson's, room, and found Ducky there waiting for them. "Ah, there you are Jethro. This is lovely countryside. You know, it reminds me of a cabin I once shared with a rather fetching young woman…"

"Duck, not now."

"Alright, Jethro, but you can't complain that I didn't offer to tell the story. It was… an intriguing three days…"

The three team members looked at each other and quickly got to work. Gibbs said, "Kate, pictures. Tony, you help."

Their work progressed rapidly, and soon the entire room was processed. Gibbs approached Tony and Kate. "Alright, apparently the Lieutenant comes here every year, right around the same time. He's an avid skier, and the last person to see him was the lift attendant at the top of the mountain. I want you two to go up there and interview him."

"Gibbs you can't be serious. It's like twenty degrees out there and it's going to get dark in a few hours! This is one of the longest chairlifts in the world, it goes like two miles!"

Tony stepped between them, "It's okay, _I'll_ be here to protect you." Kate looked at Tony, who was grinning widely, and then at Gibbs. She held his gaze until it became clear he wasn't going to give in.

"Great," she said, and sighed, "I'll get my coat."

--------------------

It was early in the season, and getting late, so the ski lift had been shut down, and no more skiers were being allowed up. The slope was completely deserted except for the last few stragglers coming down and the ski lift operator at the bottom. Kate stood, radiating misery, next to Tony as they waited for the operator to start the lift for them.

Tony got an idea for his own amusement, and his eyes lit up. "Hey Kate, umm… what's that guys name?"

Kate looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "_What_?"

"You know, that guy, the last one you dated?"

"Do you mean Roger?"

"Nope, that wasn't it."

"Well, he was the 'last one I dated.'"

"No…You know the one with the brown hair and snake tattoo, kinda dopey looking?"

Kate sighed, ignoring the gibe. "Yes, what about him?"

"That's not the one I was talking about."

"Then _why_ did you describe him to me?"

While this conversation progressed, the ski lift began humming along, and they both walked, not really paying attention, to stand in front of one of the lift chairs.

"Tony, you have got to be the most childish man I've…" Kate, exasperated with Tony, was caught unawares by the chairlift. It almost knocked her over, and she had interrupted her own sentence with a small squeak of alarm.

She squeezed her eyes shut and braced herself for the impact with the cold, wet snow that she had been irritated to feel creeping into her shoes, but she didn't meet the snow. Instead, her momentum had suddenly shifted backwards, and she had thumped lightly into a broad, solid chest. She opened her eyes.

Tony, breathing hard from the adrenaline, had his arms around her, and they were both seated securely in the ski lift.

"You should uh… be more careful," he said, looking down at her.

"Right… thanks." She removed herself from his arms and they rode in awkward silence up the side of the mountain.

About half way up, there was a loud grinding noise. Tony and Kate looked at each other, and then simultaneously up at the cable. The noise came again, only louder, and the lift jerked and screeched to a halt, throwing the two of them forward into the safety bar.

The silence was broken only by the soft creaking of the lift as it swung gently back and forth. Kate winced as she placed a hand over her now bruised stomach. She turned to Tony.

"Well… what do we do now?"

--------------------

Hmm… What do you think? Please review!


	2. Chapter 2

Woo! 10 reviews! That's the most I've had on a single chapter so far! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed. You guys rock!

Sorry for the delay, school's sucked _a lot_ lately. I've had 3 papers assigned in the past week, 2 of which were also _due_ this week, and all for my Humanities class. (One assigned Monday due Tuesday, one assigned Wednesday due Thursday, and one assigned Friday due Monday) FYI, this is my least favorite class…

But the good news about school is that first quarter's almost over, which means that in Chemistry I get… (drum roll)… NEW LAB PARTNERS! (trumpets sound, confetti falls from the ceiling, Kara dances triumphantly) Woo hoo!... (crickets chirp)… hmm… I don't think you understand.

Let me give you an example. In the last lab, we had to build our own "sample holder" by melting down glass parts, closing off the ends, yadda yadda yadda, and we were supposed to have two. For whatever reason, one of ours was thrown out. I didn't know, so I was looking around the lab station for the other one, when my lab partner came up. He holds out one of the sample holders and says, "Here. Take this one." So I, being as dumb as I am, actually take it, not knowing that he just made the damn thing by MELTING IT OVER FIRE! I had a burn the width of two pencils across my fingers for a week. This same guy also enjoys stapling himself in the arm and then pulling the staples out. And my other lab partner isn't terrible, but she can't do write-ups for crap. Her entire, page-long conclusion consisted of three sentences. Three. And they didn't make a whole lot of sense.

Anyway, thanks for letting me rant, and I hope you now understand why new lab partners is the best thing that's happened in a while.

So, finally, here's the new chapter. Please enjoy and please review!

---------------------

Tony twisted in his seat, trying to see if he could see the lift station at the bottom, but it had been obscured by all the trees. Kate pulled out her cell phone, but before she could dial Gibbs' number, it rang.

"Gibbs! Can you hear me?"

His response was repeatedly obscured by static.

"Kate… did you… attendant yet?"

"No Gibbs, the lift's stopped. Can you find out if they're doing anything about it?"

There was a pause, and then, "…attendant at the bottom left… thought attendant at the… could handle it… no mechanics on hand…

Kate, frustrated by the difficult communication and the situation, took on an edge in her voice.

"Well, what the hell are we supposed to do?"

"… need to get down… blizzard coming… cabins to your east… if… too far away… go… storm'll hit soon..." The static that had been blocking Gibbs' words became louder and all-encompassing.

"Gibbs? Gibbs! Crap!" She hung up the phone. Tony looked at her expectantly.

"They've got nobody working on this thing and there's a huge blizzard coming. We've been left to our own devices. We've either got to walk down the mountain or walk to some cabin Gibbs was talking about."

"Well... first, we've got to get down." He leaned forward to look down at the ground. "There's a good-sized drop between here and the snow, but it shouldn't be a big deal."

Kate joined him in leaning forward and looked apprehensively at the gap. "I don't know Tony, maybe we should just try calling Gibbs back and ask him to send someone up. We can't be that far from the bottom..."

"Nah, we'll be fine, there's a lot of snow down there to land on. Besides, didn't you lose reception because of the storm? We wouldn't get through." He unlatched the safety bar and began to swing it forward, but Kate quickly grabbed it and swung it shut again.

"Tony! You could get seriously hurt! _I _could get seriously hurt!"

Tony opened it again. "Don't be such a wuss, Kate. I'll go first." And with that, he pushed off the seat. Kate grabbed at the sides, as Tony's jump had made the seat swing wildly back and forth.

"Damn it Dinozzo! I am _not_ jumping down after you… Dinozzo?" There was no response, and she leaned carefully forward again. Tony lay face down, motionless in the snow.

"Tony? Oh God, Tony!" She pushed herself forward as well, and landed with a light thump a few feet away from her fallen partner. She crawled towards him, and saw that he had begun to shake. "Jesus Tony!" Thinking he had hit his head on a rock and was having some sort of seizure, she grabbed his shoulder and rolled him over onto his back. She reached to stabilize his head, and saw that the reason for his shaking was silent laughter.

"Oh, you are an _ass!_"

Laughter erupted from his mouth and he lay there, holding his stomach and howling. Kate swatted at the snow, throwing it at him. He sat up, still chuckling, and brushed the snow off his face.

"Come on, Kate. It got you down here!" He seemed pleased with himself. "I really had you there, didn't I?" She had her arms crossed and her expression was not that of someone amused. His manner softened. "Look, I'm sorry."

"I'm sure you are Tony," she said distantly, not looking at him.

"You can hit me with a snowball, if it'll make you feel better," he teased.

The words were barely out of his mouth before Kate had picked up a chunk of snow and heaved it directly into his face. Tony looked at her, appalled, and she just laughed. He spit out the snow that had gone into his mouth.

"You weren't _actually_ supposed to do it!"

"I know," she said simply. Her tone became accusatory. "And don't think that this makes us even. I'll get you back for what you did."

He rolled his eyes. "I'm sure you will Kate. Anyway, what were you saying before about a cabin?"

"Gibbs said there were some cabins to our east. I don't know how far, though. We might be better off just going down the mountain."

"Well," he said, "let's find out." He reached into his jacket and pulled out several brochures. Kate recognized them as coming from the front desk in the hotel. "Let's see…" He sorted through them, reading off the titles as he did. "Angel of the Mountains… Glynn House Bed & Breakfast… Waterville Valley Ski Resort… Merrill Farm Resort… Ah, here we are… Maplewood Ski Resort" He unfolded the brochure bearing the name of the resort they were currently on, and flipped it over to reveal a map showing the ski trails and cabins.

"Why do you have those," she asked incredulously.

"Because, Kate, snow creates a very romantic atmosphere. I wouldn't expect you to know anything about that, but I picked them up to get some ideas for… weekend plans." He waggled his eyebrows at her for the second time today.

She ignored the insult, and couldn't help but smile. "You know Tony, you always manage to get lucky." His eyes sparkled, and he opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off. "That's not what I meant, you pervert."

He grinned at her and looked back at the map. "Okay, they have a bunch of cabins other than the main hotel that can be rented for an increased price. They have full kitchens, fireplaces, not very good access to the slopes though… hey, jacuzzis, _very_ nice…"

Kate smacked him in the back of the head. "How far away?"

He glared at her and rubbed the back of his head. "We're about half way up the mountain, which puts us a mile from the bottom. The cabins are only about a half a mile to our east which is…" He pulled out his PDA and accessed the GPS function. "…that way."

"Looks like the cabins are our best bet," she said.

"Yep." Tony looked uneasily at the darkening sky overhead. "I just hope we make it there in time."

--------------------

Sorry it was short, I hope it was worth the wait. Let me know what you think!

Note: I mentioned several resorts, and all of them are real except for the one I said they're on. As far as I know, I made that up based on the name of a golfing place in the area. I searched "maplewood ski" on Yahoo, and there are several places in other states, but not actually one in New Hampshire.

I hope you enjoyed it, and please review!


	3. Chapter 3

You guys are so great! Thanks to The Italian Peach, shirik, Kal's Gal, SvUfan09, KatKnits00, jenaipasdufromage, soccergirl1115, DOMLUVR4EVER, devil3567, Dina, Kadyann, Trickster's Queen of War, pealee, and MacCartney. Reviews really made my week!

Author's Note: Sorry for yet another delay, school really does suck. My next update could be sometime again this weekend, or around Thanksgiving when we get a break. Also, the 17th is an early release day, so I might use that to post. Thanks so much for all your patience.

I almost sobbed when I saw the scenes from this past week's episode. As I learned from The Italian Peach, _Cote de Pablo was integrated into the show with the same storyline in which Sasha Alexander was written out, _and I could take that as reference to the Ari storyline, but I choose to take that as reference to Tate-ness, because I need a reason to be annoyed with the writers. :o)

How long have we wanted Kate and Tony to be even an undercover couple? How many stories are there on this site testifying to that want? Hmm? A LOT, THAT'S HOW MANY! I didn't really watch the episode, I was writing yet another paper for my Humanities class, but I probably wouldn't have liked it anyway… (sniffle)

On the story front, I've been throwing around some different ideas for this story, and feedback would help me decide what to do. I've also been thinking about another story after this one with a cave-in, because I seem to have some sort of weird fetish for natural disasters… hmm…

_Side note_: I was just looking at some of the reviews for a story, and just wanted to say: people are stupid. Most of them one (only a few exceptions I saw) gave anonymous reviews when they were trashing the story, because those people are apparently cowardly _as well_ as stupid.

This site was designed so people could do what they love, and most of the time they are searching for compliments and constructive criticism. Occasionally, however, a story is not written to be taken seriously, and is simply a form of venting. The story was written as an emotional release (or I'm assuming so, since that's what a lot of writing is), and as a way to reflect some frustrations with a situation over which you can have no control and which you were not expecting. **To criticize someone's feelings is completely unacceptable** and one of the greatest forms of ignorance and intolerance.

One reviewer went so far as to use that story to not only attack the author's entire body of work, but to attack an entire genre (Tate) and the people who write it. It is incomprehensible to me that people could act this way.

I'm thrilled for you if you do not agree with an opinion, but maybe you should say so without coming off like a complete dickhead. (There were several people who disagreed in a respectful and coherent manner. I have no problem with them, in fact, I _applaud _them and would like to thank them for being good people.) Sorry to anyone I've offended, and sorry if _I've _been a dickhead, but that's _my _opinion and _my _rant for this week.

Here's chapter three. Please enjoy and please review.

--------------------

A quarter mile east of where they had leapt from the ski lift was a thick tree line, which left a quarter mile of forest between them and the cabin.

Tony and Kate had been moving hurriedly, hoping to reach the cabin ahead of the storm, but their pace slowed considerably with the first snowfall. It had started with only a few flakes, gently drifting down and landing silently on the ground, in their hair, and on the already loaded tree branches. The silence was unbroken: even their feet made no sound on the snow.

The snowflakes began to fall faster, harder, and bigger, and the magical air that had been present was quickly ruined. There was already only a little light under the cover of the trees, and the thick snow was blinding. The wind had picked up, driving the snow in every direction, and Kate was having a hard time seeing Tony though he was only a few feet in front of her. She almost ran into him when he suddenly stopped.

"What is it?" she yelled, struggling to make herself heard over the howling wind.

"The cabin's just over there!" he yelled back, pointing. "Nobody's in it, there are no lights on, so when we get there, you go inside! I'm gonna go around to the back and start up the generator!"

She shook her head. "We're not going to split up in this! We'll do it together!" She smiled at him, and he smiled back.

He leaned closer to her so she could hear him better. "Did you just say we could do it together?" The smile dropped off her face, and she pushed past him with a sigh of frustration. She grabbed his arm and pulled him along as she took the lead.

He laughed and allowed himself to be led towards the back of the cabin. They came upon a door with "Generator Room" printed on it in big bold letters. It was partially open and swinging in the wind. A giant gust forced it completely open, allowing them to see the bright red generator sitting in the middle of the self-contained room.

Kate shouted over the wind again, "Why isn't there a door from this room to the cabin?" They struggled through the snow towards the open doorway.

"The main power for the cabin isn't this generator! When you rent the cabin, they give you fuel for the one inside, this is just a backup!"

"How do you know… never mind, the romance, I remember now." They made it into the room, and the wind was muffled slightly, but still roaring outside.

"What idiot left the door open?" Kate muttered to herself. She suddenly looked around. "Do you hear that?" she asked, straining her ears, trying to identify the sound she was hearing.

"Yeah," Tony said. He approached the generator and the sound grew louder. He placed a hand on it, and discovered with surprise that it was vibrating slightly and already running.

Kate raised an eyebrow at him, and he shrugged in response. "Maybe they're programmed to come on if the temperature in the cabin hits a certain point. Let's go inside." Kate was first outside, shielding her face with her hand as the wind blew snow into her eyes. Tony came out behind her and closed the door to the generator room, making sure it was really closed this time.

He placed his hand on her arm just above her elbow, and they walked around the side of the large building. They came to the front door and Tony kicked the door squarely in the center.

"Jesus Tony!" Kate yelled. "We've got to wait it out in there, and it won't be very warm if you break the damn door!" Tony looked at her incredulously.

"Then how would _you _propose we get in?"

Kate rooted around in her coat pocket and triumphantly pulled out a large key ring. She jingled it in Tony's face. "I got the managers keys from him when we got here in case we wanted to look at other rooms! I assume _one _of them will work on this cabin!" She got lucky and the third key she tried opened the door.

As she pushed the door open, Tony yelled, "You always were a thinker, Katie!"

"Thank you!" she yelled back. They both went inside, and she slammed the door. "And don't call me Katie." She began the process of ridding herself of snow.

The cabin was only one story. The door had put them on a small landing with a closet in front of them. To their right was a three-stair stairway leading up into the main room, which was carpeted in white and decorated with leather and wood furniture. All the wood was light-colored, including the stairs, and the ceilings were high with giant windows, partially obscured by all the snow. There was a stone fireplace around which all the furniture was arranged, and an open doorframe leading into a kitchen. There were four closed doors, leading to what it could be assumed were two bedrooms, a bathroom, and the indoor generator.

Kate finished hanging her things in the closet. She turned around and bumped into Tony, who had been coming to hang his things in the closet as well.

"Sorry," she said, embarrassed to be pressed against Tony's chest for the second time today.

"That's, uh, okay," he said, clearing his throat. "You've got a little… snow… on you."

"Oh," she said softly.

He placed his hand on her cheek and used his thumb to gently remove the flakes from her long eyelashes. It was her turn to clear her throat as she stepped to the side, looking down, and allowing him access to the closet.

He hung up his things and turned to say something, but was relieved to see that he wouldn't have to clear the air, as she had been distracted by something. She had a puzzled look on her face, and she slowly approached the stairs to the main room.

"What the hell?" She knelt down on the bottom step, and stared intently at the second one. She tucked her hair behind her ears and leaned closer to the mysterious spot she had noticed. "Is that… blood?"

"Yes," said a voice from above her, and it was followed by a click that she clearly identified as the cocking of a gun. "And I suggest you don't move unless you want yours there with it."

------------------------------

DUN DUN DUN! I may update tomorrow (Sunday) or the dates I mentioned in my author's notes at the beginning. I'll only update tomorrow if I get lots of reviews:o)

Again, sorry if I offended anyone with my rant at the beginning, (if I did, you probably aren't still reading this, but I'm gonna apologize anyway) but it was just something that was making me mad while I wrote.

Let me know what you think of the chapter. Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

The number of reviews I've received has been incredible. They've really brightened up a pretty bleak-looking week! (school papers, lots of rain and ick, not to mention the "derivative challenge" in math. Bleck.) Some people thought the reviews I was ranting about last chapter were directed at me when, in fact, they were written to someone else's story, but the sentiment in the reviews I received in response to the last chapter was absolutely beautiful. It made me so happy that I'm writing a new chapter! On Wednesday! Which was not a pre-scheduled posting day! Hoorah!

:o) I would have posted yesterday, but my step-father was on the computer FOREVER.

Anyway, everything you have said really means a lot to me. You guys have been amazing and I can't thank you all enough (especially since I'm working on this instead of my Humanities paper. A BIG thank you for that one…) And so, here it is in all its glory: Chapter 4. (some bad words in this one) Please enjoy and please review!

------------------------

Kate froze. She slowly began to look up to see the man.

"I said you shouldn't move!" His voice was shrill, and panicky. The confidence she had heard in his first statement was vanishing, and she could practically hear the bullets rattling around in the gun in his shaking hand.

She readjusted her head so she was once again staring at the blood spot.

"And you!" the man said to Tony. "You better… you better not make any moves either!"

"Easy," said Tony, his voice perfectly calm. "You shouldn't wave that 9 millimeter around like that. You're gonna end up hurting your left arm… That's better, hold it still on Kate… on me… on Kate again."

Though Kate couldn't see the man, she could feel his confusion. "Wh-why the hell are you talking like that?"

"That gun has _terrible_ range on it," Tony said in response. "It's a good thing you're standing only about a foot and a half above Kate and slightly to her left."

Kate couldn't help but smile. She knew exactly what Tony was doing. He knew she couldn't look around for fear of startling their jumpy captor, so he, thinking quickly, was telling her exactly what was going on. She tensed her muscles and waited for the opportunity he would provide her.

Tony's voice became sympathetic. "Is this your first hostage situation? I feel for ya man… why don't you just give me the gun?" She heard Tony's footsteps behind her.

"Don't move or I'll shoot her!" The footsteps stopped.

"Alright," Tony said with a slight chuckle. "_Now_ I understand. You've got to threaten a woman cause you can't handle a man. That's cool. I mean, it's understandable. You _are_ pretty scrawny."

The man seemed flabbergasted. "I could… I could fight a man if I wanted to!"

Tony snorted. "I'm sure you could, pal… Go ahead, keep pointing the gun at… _the girl's_…head."

The man above Kate stomped his foot. "I'm a man! You shut up!"

Tony was yelling back at him. "Right, there you go, you pointed the gun at me for a half a second and then back at her. I got it now, you're not just afraid of men, you're afraid of girls too!"

"I am not and I said _shut up!"_

"Ooh, look at the big man, holding a gun on _me_ when I'm unarmed!"

Right as Tony had said "me," Kate took her cue and leapt forward and upward. She hit the man in his stomach and he began to fall backwards.

The gun went off.

Kate heard a sharp intake of breath, and then a sickening thud from behind her as Tony fell to the floor.

"Damn it!" Kate resisted the urge to leave the man, and wrested the gun away from him. She hit him in the head with it and threw it off to the side, flipping the man over and handcuffing his hands behind his back. She clambered to her feet and cleared the set of stairs, falling to her knees beside Tony's limp form.

"Tony, are you okay?"

He groaned and grabbed his arm, where Kate could see that the bullet had entered near his elbow. It was bleeding heavily.

"Oh my God, Tony, can you hear me? Can you talk?"

"Yes." He gasped.

"Alright, just hold on." Kate pulled off the sweater she'd been wearing over her turtleneck, and tied it tightly around his upper arm. She gingerly lifted his arm and examined it.

"There's no exit wound, the bullet's still in your arm. I'm going to go get some bandages from the bathroom and I'll be right back, okay? Apply pressure and don't move."

She started to get up but he grabbed her arm with his good one. "You… have to… get it out." His breathing was shallow and his face was pale.

"I can't do that here, Tony. I don't have the equipment, not to mention the training."

"Risk of… infection. Don't know… how long we'll be here."

She hesitated a moment, but decided to do as he asked. She ran through the living room and began throwing the doors open until she found the bathroom. She rushed in and hurriedly opened the medicine cabinet above the sink. She stared in disbelief at the empty shelves in front of her. Her momentary fear abated, however, when she saw a note taped to the wall next to the mirror.

"Complimentary medical supplies located in the bathroom adjoining the bedroom." She assumed they had them because of the isolated nature of the cabin and because of the tendency of injuries to occur at the most inopportune times. She raced back out into the living room, through the master bedroom, and into the adjacent bathroom, where the medicine cabinet was stocked with aspirin, band-aids, rubbing alcohol, and a standard first-aid kit.

"Kate!" She heard a labored shout from the living room. She grabbed the first-aid kit and the rubbing alcohol and ran back out of the bathroom, sending the other contents of the medicine cabinet flying in her haste.

She reached the living room and saw that their suspect had woken up and, taking advantage of his small frame, pulled his legs through the loop his handcuffed arms had made, and his hands were now in front of him. Tony would have shot him, but he had removed his holster along with his coat.

The suspect had grabbed his gun and was pointing it at Kate from about twenty feet away. Kate dropped the supplies and went for her gun. It was no longer in its holster. She had somehow lost it: her heart sank as she saw it on the floor over by one of the couches she had run by.

"Oh. Shit."

The suspect fired, and Kate hit the floor, but Tony had dragged himself towards the man and grabbed him around the legs as he shot the gun. The bullet had gone wide by a good six feet, and the suspect tripped and fell to the floor, dropping his gun as he did so. He untangled himself from Tony and took off running out into the blizzard, leaving the door open and snow blowing in. The wind was roaring and they quickly lost sight of him as he dashed madly into the raging storm.

Kate ran over and shut the door. Retying the sweater around Tony's arm, she helped him to his feet and led him to one of the big couches in the living room. He was gritting his teeth against the pain.

"Bastard landed on my arm." Kate held took his hand and placed it over his wound.

"Keep applying pressure." She went to the front door, locked it, and looked out the window. "Well," she said, squinting into the increasing darkness. "At least he won't last long in this."

-----------------------

This chapter was kinda…. eh. A little slow, and weird, but slow and weird chapters have their uses. (i.e., moving us along toward action… adventure… romance!) Besides, I wanted to post just for you, my little reviewers… hmm… sorry my gift to you sucked.

:oP

Anyway, tomorrow's the early release day at my school, so there's a chance I'll post… but, my friend Kate invited me to hang out after school… hmm… will I post? Maybe I will… maybe I won't… I'm very mysterious that way…

:o)

I hope you liked it. Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Hello loyal readers! On a very sad note, my new favorite show, Threshold, was recently cancelled. Please see my just-added-today, bolded notes about the show at the top of my profile. Any assistance you can offer would be greatly appreciated!

Speaking of other shows, I've recently gotten into Law & Order: SVU, and after this story I will probably try to write one for that show.

Anyway, back to this story.

Chapter five:

- I will begin using the review reply feature on the reviews for this chapter.

- I wrote to Shirik saying that this chapter would either be up yesterday or today, and I really really did have every intention of having it up yesterday. But, upon re-reading it, I scrapped the whole damn thing and started again, so any typos are due to my carelessness. Feel free to point them out.

Chapter six and beyond:

- I have no idea what the last chapter will be, I'm kind of winging it at this point. Could be six chapters, could be twenty… Who knows? I have very specific ideas as to where I want it to go, but I'm having a hard time connecting them.

- Look for chapter six later in the week. Tuesday (December 13) or this weekend are looking like the most probable times.

Thanks for your infinite patience and support. Please enjoy and please review! Oh, and please note that my medical knowledge is based on what I've seen on TV.

--------------------

Kate retrieved the medical supplies from where she had dropped them a few moments ago. (_Author's note: alright, it was like three weeks ago, but… shhh._) She returned to Tony's side and gently removed his hand from his arm. She examined the bullet hole concernedly.

"I think the bullet helped stop the bleeding. I don't know if I should remove it."

"The risks are higher if you don't, Kate."

"What if I mess it up?"

"I trust you."

She bit her lip in apprehension and slowly nodded.

"Alright," she unzipped the first aid kit. "Here we go."

She put the pair of gloves from the kit, and got out the tweezers. She poured some of the rubbing alcohol over them, and then did the same to Tony's arm. He winced in pain.

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Just keep going." Tony had averted his eyes and was staring at the ceiling.

She probed gently at the wound. "I can see it. I think it's lodged against the bone."

"Do what you gotta do." His voice was strained, and his eyes were now closed.

With a last sympathetic and apologetic look in his direction, Kate stuck the tweezers into his arm. He inhaled sharply through clenched teeth, but remained perfectly still. She grasped the bullet firmly and pulled. Slowly but steadily, the bullet slid out of his arm, blood welling up behind it. Kate grabbed a piece of gauze out of the first aid kit and put it over the wound with medical tape, followed by the bandages that she wrapped tightly and attached with the clip.

Tony looked decidedly pale, but he smiled at her and wiped the sweat off his forehead. "Thanks Kate."

"No problem."

"I'm getting a headache… Were there any painkillers around?"

She stood up, intending to clean up the supplies and get some Tylenol for Tony, but he suddenly grabbed her arm. "I meant it Kate. Thanks. Not everyone would have been able to do that."

She placed her hand on his. "You're welcome."

"I mean, especially considering what a big chicken you are."

She brushed his hand off and shook her head. "You know, Tony, here we are, having a nice _normal _moment between friends, and you, as usual, have to open your big mouth."

He grinned. "Oh come on, it was a joke!" His voice followed her into the kitchen. "To lighten the moment! That's what I do!"

"Yeah yeah," She muttered good-naturedly, returning to the living room with a bottle of water she'd found in the fridge. She threw it at Tony, who caught it easily, and she disappeared into the master bedroom. She returned a few seconds later with the bottle of Tylenol she'd knocked to the floor, which she also pegged at Tony.

"Here. For your stupid, fat head." She plopped back down on the other end of the couch.

He stuck his tongue out at her and swallowed two of the pills. His playful grin disappeared into a look of perplexity, and he cocked his head to one side.

"Do you hear that?"

"What?" Kate strained her ears.

"That rumbling."

She was quiet for a second. "All I can hear is the wind."

"Shh!" What little color he had quickly drained from his face as he considered the possibilities. "Kate… I don't mean to alarm you, but there's an avalanche coming our way."

"What? What do we do?"

"I don't know! I know what to do if you're actually outside in an avalanche, but I've never heard of a procedure for when you're inside." The rumbling grew louder.

The side of the cabin facing up the mountain had no windows because the resort had realized the possibility of an avalanche. Had there been windows on that side, they would have been smashed in by the huge wall of snow that hit and diverged upon the cabin.

Tony and Kate clung to each other as a deafening rushing noise encompassed everything as the cabin was buried in snow. The sound soon died as the snow settled in its new position, and all that could be heard was the roaring wind of the blizzard and the faint humming of the generator.

They had wrapped their arms around each other, and had their faces buried in each other's shoulders. Tony looked up and cleared his throat, breaking the near-silence. "I uh… I think it's safe now."

Kate raised her head. "Right. Safe." They hurriedly removed themselves from each other's arms and Kate stood up. The windows on the three walls of the cabin were completely covered with snow, and since most of them reached the ceiling, this didn't bode well for their situation.

Kate examined the fireplace. "No snow came down the chimney so it's probably still above the snow. Once the blizzard dies down, smoke from a fire could tell Gibbs where we are."

"Yeah," said Tony, "Everything'll be fine."

"Fine? We're in the middle of nowhere, buried under a mountain of snow!"

"Relax, Kate. At least things can't get any wor…"

"Do not finish that sentence!"

He stared at her incredulously. "Bad things _do not _happen just because someone says 'things can't get any worse.' That's just a silly…"

The lights overhead flickered once… twice… and died. The hum of the generator slowed and ended, and the cabin was thrown into complete darkness.

"… superstition?"

-o-o-o-o-o-o-

"You had to open your big fat mo… OW!" Kate yelped as she stubbed her toe yet again, trying to make her way towards the indoor generator Tony had spoken of, hoping to find at least a little fuel still in it.

"You couldn't leave it alone, could you? You always find a way to… DAMN IT!"

Tony thought it was good that they were in the dark, because if Kate could have seen the grin on his face, she definitely would have killed him.

Kate's voice grew muffled as she found the right room. "I've had it with you Tony, HAD IT! And if you think that…"

"Boo!" Tony had followed her into the room and took the opportunity to scare her. Kate shrieked and whirled around swinging. Tony blocked her blows with his good arm "Easy Kate! It's just me!"

She was so relieved that she fell forward into his arms and buried her face in his chest.

"Good God, Tony…" The fight in her voice was gone. Finding the man in the cabin had unnerved her more than she'd let on, and Tony realized it.

"I'm really, really sorry." He hadn't sounded this sincere since the whole thing had started.

There was a companionable silence for a moment.

"You should be, you stupid ass." She pushed him away. "Now let's see if we can get this generator started."

--------------------

(frowns) I find myself increasingly dissatisfied with my chapters… I hope the same isn't true for you guys.

:o)

Like I said, look for the new chapter Tuesday or this weekend. Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

**Oh my god, guys, I'm so, so sorry. I checked my e-mail, expecting to find reviews for chapter 6, but I instead found several personal messages from readers, asking if I was alright and why my update was not there. I went to and found chapter six still in my documents! I had attempted to post it really quick and I must have x-ed out the window before it went through. **

**I know that I've been flaky about posting, well, everything I've ever posted, and that I disparage my excuse-making in the following paragraphs, but I promised a specific date in my review responses, and I hope that you know I would NEVER have missed it on purpose. I cannot apologize enough, and hope that you will all be able to forgive my egregious error. What follows is the chapter as it was intended to be posted (Everything not bolded was supposed to be up on the 29th). Again, my sincerest and deepest apologies to everyone.**

Hiya! I hope everyone had a nice holiday.

I keep making excuses for my delays, but the only real reasons are my laziness, and my newfound fascination with Law & Order: SVU, which, since it's apparently one of the only shows USA has any rights to, is on approximately 16 hours a day. It's all new to me, so I watch as much as possible. (I almost cancelled going to a friend's house tomorrow cause they're having an SVU marathon… I think my obsession's becoming unhealthy…)

Note: Please visit and search "Threshold." Sign the "Tell CBS to bring back Threshold" petition. Or at least tell someone about it. For further info, view my profile. If you have already done so, I hope you know that it means the world to me. And remember: Spread the word, spread the love, spread the Threshold.

:oP

God I have problems… lol. Anyway, here's chapter six. If you couldn't tell, I'm in a wicked weird mood, and the chapter may or may not reflect that… But please enjoy and please review!

Ohhh, and I almost forgot! I tried to type in a web address that you guys could copy and paste into your browsers, but it wouldn't work. It was just a news story about NCIS coming out on DVD sometime this coming spring. (Yay!) Too bad there were only two seasons of NCIS, so those will be the only ones I'll buy… … What do you mean third season? There were two seasons, and right before the last episode of season two, the show just ended. And NOTHING ELSE HAPPENED.

Yes-sirree, nothing bad _ever_ happens on TV (clutches knees and rocks back and forth) I can't wait til Threshold this Friday (giggles maniacally) Yep… I loves me some Threshold…

Oh my god, LMAO. Like I said, REALLY weird mood. Now seriously, here's the chapter.

Oops, one more thing. I don't know anything about how infection or how long it takes to set in, or really anything medical, so… yeah.

--------------------

Kate pulled sharply on the starter cord. The generator stirred slightly, but quickly died. She pulled again, but achieved no better result than the first time. Tony, though he couldn't see in the dark, could hear her futile efforts.

"Come on, Kate. Put some muscle into it!"

"I don't see you doing anything."

"I am wounded," he said defensively. "I'll have you know that… my… arm…" his voice trailed off and, unbeknownst to Kate, he clutched at his head as a wave of dizziness swept over him.

"Yeah, yeah, that's what I…" She paused to yank on the cord again. "…thought!" The last word was uttered triumphantly as the generator sputtered to life and the lights came on. She smiled in satisfaction, and peered at the fuel gauge. "It's almost empty. We should get a fire started before the lights go out, _again_." She turned from the generator, but Tony had recovered from his dizzy spell before she saw him.

"Sounds good."

They returned to the living room where there was a stack of firewood, tucked discreetly in a corner by the fireplace. Kate pointed towards it. "Can you put a couple of those in the fireplace? I'll go look for a lighter." She disappeared into the kitchen.

With Kate out of the room, Tony allowed his control to slip a little, and he grimaced in pain. His arm was aching, but he didn't want to tell Kate how much it was bothering him. With his good arm, he loaded three logs into the fireplace, and made them into a fairly decent teepee-formation. Underneath them, he placed several of the smaller pieces of kindling that had been next to the larger logs.

As he stood up to admire his work, dizziness overcame him again. He put out a hand to steady himself, and shook his head in an effort to clear it. Regaining his confidence, he stepped away from the fireplace just as Kate reentered the room.

She held up a matchbook that she'd found in a drawer in the kitchen. "These should do the trick."

For the next several minutes, Kate and Tony tried unsuccessfully to light the fire. As the number of matches dwindled, their frustration grew, until Tony was suddenly struck with an epiphany. "I'll be right back." He rose to his feet, hiding the pain it caused him, and walked into the bedroom. He returned a moment later with the bottle of rubbing alcohol that Kate had obsessively returned to the medicine cabinet.

"Caution: Flammable," he said, grinning and reading the side of the bottle.

"Ohh, no. Tony, no! We can't just… No!"

He knelt down beside her again. "Don't worry so much. What's the worst that could…"

She placed her hand over his mouth. "Let's not start that again."

He grinned at her. "Sorry. But what are the odds of that happening twice?" He moved to open the bottle, but grimaced when he tried to move his injured arm, and instead removed the cap with his teeth. He carefully poured a small amount of the liquid over the logs and the kindling. He stuck out his hand to grab for the matches, but Kate held them out of reach.

"Uh-uh… get rid of that first," she said gesturing at the alcohol. "Though blowing up the cabin would solve our snow problem, I'd prefer it if we didn't." He made a face at her as he handed her the alcohol and retrieved the cap from where it had landed on the floor.

She screwed the cap on and walked into the kitchen, trying to put the alcohol as far away as possible, and Tony rolled his eyes. Walking back in, she took out a match and handed it to Tony. He looked at her questioningly.

"I'm sure as hell not going to light it," she said simply.

"I can't light it one-handed."

"You strike the match, I'll hold the matchbook… over here."

He rolled his eyes again and sighed as Kate positioned herself to the far left of the fireplace. Tony turned towards it after striking the match. Kate closed her eyes, and Tony took a deep breath as he tossed the match into the center of the wood pile.

There was a loud whoosh and Kate winced as the wood burst into flame. She slowly opened her eyes and saw that the fire was crackling merrily, and there were no obvious adverse effects to Tony's alcohol plan.

"Though it pains me to admit it, you were right."

"What?"

"I said, you were right."

He smiled. "I'm sorry, one more time?"

She opened her mouth to say something sarcastic, but jumped and let out a small squeak as the fire popped loudly behind them.

"A little edgy, are we?"

In retaliation she shoved him. It wasn't an especially hard shove, but it coincided with yet another dizzy spell, and Tony almost fell over. Kate reacted quickly and grabbed his good arm to steady him.

"Woah! Are you alright? I'm sorry!"

"I'm good," he said, briefly closing his eyes. As Tony regained his balance, a loud gurgling noise suddenly erupted from the generator room. Kate turned in that direction.

"I think that was the generator eating up the last of the fuel." Her assumption was confirmed as the lights flickered and died for the second time that day, and the room was shrouded in heavy shadows. "Good thing we got the fire started," she said as she turned back to Tony. "Tony?" She scanned the room at eye level and didn't see him. A chill ran up her spine as she thought of his lightheadedness just a few moments ago, and she allowed her gaze to drift downward.

"Tony!"

-o-o-o-o-o-Hours Later-o-o-o-o-o-

Upon finding Tony's passed out form on the floor, Kate had struggled to lift him onto the couch. His unhealthily pale skin, emphasized by the firelight, had felt as though it were on fire, and a sheen of perspiration had developed across his forehead. Kate knew that his arm had become infected and that she desperately needed to lower his fever. She had forced him to swallow more Tylenol, and spent the next several hours feeding the fire and waiting for his fever to break. It appeared that that had happened, as he was now waking up.

"Tony," she said hopefully, kneeling next to the couch as he groaned and stirred. "Can you hear me?"

"Yeah." His voice was raspy.

"Your arm's infected. You have to take some more Tylenol, okay?"

"Okay."

He swallowed the two pills she offered him. "Cold."

She hurriedly left the room and returned with several blankets. She covered him with them, and sat down on the edge of the couch next to his chest. She gently stroked his face with her hand.

"You should get some rest, okay? Just try to go to sleep."

"Okay."

Tony awoke periodically over the next several hours, and Kate would ply him with Tylenol and more blankets, even giving him the coats out of the closet. Kate didn't say anything to Tony, but she was very concerned: the Tylenol had been low to begin with, and was being used up far too quickly. The firewood was dwindling as well, and an increasing chill pervaded the room.

As Kate watched Tony's chest rise and fall, her teeth began to chatter. She looked wistfully upward to the windows that were hidden in the darkness, and hoped that Gibbs would find them soon.

--------------------

Not very long, but they never are. Let me know what you think.

**Once again, I'd like to apologize, and I'm redoubling my efforts on chapter 7. I'm very, very sorry! **


	7. Chapter 7

In my room, I have a poster that's a picture of a lone tree in field, getting struck by lightning. I got it because I thought it was cool, and it's now hanging over my bed. The other day my friend Addie was over for the first time since I had gotten it, and she asked me what it meant.

I looked at it, and looked at her, and shrugged. "I don't know, it's a tree getting struck by lightning."

She said, "Oh, I thought maybe it was supposed to be about power or strength or something like that."

"Nope. As far as I know, it's just a tree."

But after she left it started bothering me. What did it mean? What does it represent? Resilience? Strength? Why do I like it enough to hang it over my bed? Did I pick it because it is on some unconscious level a reflection of my very soul?

I quickly realized that I was being slightly ridiculous. Why does it have to have a deeper meaning? Like many people, I'm almost always looking for a hidden significance, whether it's in terms of the meaning of life, or simply reading too much into what goes on around me. A look, a gesture, whatever it may be, I create elaborate scenarios in my head about what's _really_ going on.

In some instances, this is good; an exercise in creativity, if you will, but there isn't always a meaning. I think I need to start accepting some things at face value, especially when it comes to TV. I don't know these people, the characters aren't even real, yet I presume to know what's going on between them.

Hollywood writers aren't exactly known for their subtlety, if they actually meant for something to happen, they'd make it happen. I think Tate is a good example of where I read too much into things. I mean, maybe there really was nothing there…

Nah!

Searching for hidden meaning is good! It's… the sign of a healthy imagination! And I thumb my nose at all the TV writers out there who constantly tease the shippers, and then crap all over their dreams by categorically denying that anything _has_ happened, _is_ happening, or _ever will_ happen between the characters.

So keep on dreaming, all my amazing (and completely correct) dreamers, because though my tree may just be a tree, Kate and Tony are Tate!

Lol, I'm feeling philosophical today… But anyway, I mentioned in a few of my review responses that it's very difficult to update when I'm at my father's house (every other week, switching on Thursday nights) as his computer is still running on Windows 98 and is slower than insert your own very slow thing here. I'm not exaggerating in the slightest when I say that it takes 6 and a half minutes to open Microsoft Word (I timed it once). So my posting, though it wasn't any more frequent than this to begin with, will be on a week-on, week-off basis.

Specific note about the chapter: In this chapter, I had some dialogue that I took almost verbatim (slightly modified for the situation) out of an episode of The X-Files (which I don't own). Bonus points to reviewers who can pick out the line, double bonus points if you can tell me what episode! (Bonus points can be redeemed at your local Wal-Mart! Try using them some time and let me know how it works out…)

:o)

Also in this chapter, I made up middle names for the two of them. If the names are out there, I'm sure I've read or heard them before, but I cannot recall or find them at this moment. (It might have been on Kate's (looks around and whispers)… gravestone… in that episode.) So, if anyone knows their characters' real middle names, feel free to let me know and I'll edit the chapter. Please enjoy and please review!

------------------

Tony had very blurred recollections of his brief moments of lucidity. He could vaguely recall Kate gently forcing him to swallow the Tylenol, and her concerned face hovering over him. Each memory was clouded with pain and, in some cases, mild delusion. He could have sworn that, at least once, he had seen Kate conversing with a llama.

Tony woke up once again, feeling much more alert than he had the past few times. He sighed heavily and watched as his breath dissipated into the air, and for the first time noticed how cold it was, even with the dozen blankets Kate had covered him with.

Kate! He sat up suddenly and looked around, taking in the dying embers in the fireplace that cast a slight orange glow around the room. The wood stand to the side of the fireplace was empty. He saw her huddled at the other end of the couch with one, thin-looking blanket wrapped around her. She appeared to have been dozing, but at his sudden motion she had looked up.

"H-h-hey," she said, through chattering teeth. "F-f-feeling better?"

"Yeah," he said in disbelief. Her skin was very white, and it was hard to tell in the dim light, but it appeared that her lips were tinged a slight blue. "Why don't you have more blankets?"

"You needed them m-more than me."

"It's like twenty degrees in here, take some blankets." He began to shove some of his blankets down towards her end, but she kicked them back.

"No. I'm f-fine."

"Just take a few…"

"No."

"Two."

"No."

"One."

"No! Now, y-you're sick. Lay back d-down and go to s-sleep." She tried to sound stern, but she seemed drowsy.

"Kate, if you don't keep warm you could die! And though I wouldn't have to deal with your attitude anymore, I don't want to have to explain to Gibbs how I let you freeze to death. Now if you won't take some blankets, we can at least share them."

She made a nasty face at him.

"Careful, Katie. In this situation, your face could _actually_ freeze like that."

"D-don't call me K-Katie."

"What are you gonna do about it, Katie?"

"I swear to g-god, DiNozzo, don't m-make me come over there."

"Ooh, now I'm scared." She balled up her only blanket and threw it into his face.

"Katie!" His face became serious, pleading. "Will you please just get under the blankets?"

She looked him up and down. "I'd r-rather f-freeze."

Tony sighed in resignation. "Well, I didn't want to have to do this." He stood up and faltered, still weakened from his ordeal.

"S-sit down," she said, concerned that he would further injure himself.

"I can't," he said simply, and, shielding his injured arm, proceeded to pounce on her. Well, not so much on her as directly next to her, causing her to bounce into the air. She landed again, wedged securely between the back of the couch and Tony's good arm.

"W-what the hell!" She was hard to take seriously when her teeth were chattering, and Tony grinned at her.

"I said, we would share the blankets." He began arranging the many layers over the two of them as Kate grumbled to herself under her breath. She lay back against the arm of the couch with her arms folded and the blankets pulled up to her chin, still shivering violently. As Tony finished fixing the blankets, he laid back next to her on the wide couch.

They lay, side by side, staring up at the ceiling, as the last of the embers in the fireplace finally died. The only light now was the moonlight that was shining in from the very tops of the highest windows, and their eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness. The silence was interrupted only by the chattering of Kate's teeth, and there was an aura of peace that made it seem appropriate to whisper.

"Hey Kate," Tony said softly.

"Yeah."

"Are you still cold?"

As a response she unclenched her jaw and allowed her teeth to clack louder.

"You know, I heard that the best way to get warm is to climb naked into a sleeping bag with someone else who's also naked."

"Well, m-maybe if another avalanche carries some s-sleeping bags down the chimney, you'll get l-lucky."

He chuckled, appreciating her humor, but he was concerned that she was still shivering so intensely. She was exhibiting the early signs of hypothermia; she was not only shivering, she was sluggish and pale.

He thought about what he would do if she were hypothermic. Most of what he'd learned in his illustrious six month career in the boy scouts had been long forgotten, and he desperately wanted to remember, for her sake.

There had been countless times since they'd known each other that the idea had occurred to him that she could die. For the third time since this ordeal alone had begun, he had to seriously consider it once again. Every time, including this one, that he had thought about it, his stomach would twist unpleasantly. He had attributed these moments of uncertainty and fear to the adrenaline that came with most of these scenarios: there was nothing quite like an explosion or a lunatic with a gun to get the old heart pumping.

But now, there were no explosions, there was no lunatic with a gun (anymore). And yet, as he cast a sidelong glance through the darkness at her too-pale face and her shivering body, he felt the familiar twinge of his stomach and tightening of his chest. So… why? No adrenaline means he shouldn't feel this way unless…

It hit him like a ton of bricks: Unless he loved her. He loved her. He, Anthony Vincenzo DiNozzo, was in love with her, Caitlin Elizabeth Todd.

In that instant he realized why it was that he was always so willing to risk himself for her, why he loved to tease her, and why every time he said her name, he could feel his heartbeat quicken. It wasn't because she was a colleague or like a sister, it was because…

He smiled to himself. The phrase had run through his head so many times in the past few seconds he couldn't even form it anymore: the words had escalated into a powerful emotion, and he didn't want to sit still anymore. He wanted to get up, to dance, to sing, and most of all, to tell her.

"Kate," he said, happily rolling over on his side to face her. He thought she had dozed off, and shook her shoulder gently, not able to wait. "Kate!"

She didn't respond, and he immediately remembered the conditions that had led to his realization.

"Kate? Kate, wake up! Wake up now!"

--------------------

I know, I know… I'm a terrible, evil, overdramatic person, and it was kinda cruddy towards the end. I'm not good at writing stuff like that… Let me know what you think!

Oh, and about not being able to update at my dad's, I'm going to start updating my profile regularly with notes as to where I am and what my posting schedule will be like. I hope to keep you guys informed. I'll post again soon!


	8. Chapter 8

I just can't help but be a bad, procrastinating, evil writer. It's almost funny sometimes (except not funny cause it's very, very sad.)

(sigh)

Well folks, this is it. The final chapter. Mostly because you guys deserve some closure without having to wait anymore ungodly lengths of time, and partly because I'm not as inspired by Tate anymore. (sigh) Tragic, but true.

A lot has changed since I last updated. I got my license, got a car, got a job (where I've decided that work is just not for me), agonized for weeks over what classes to take my senior year, went to Florida for a week, went to Tennessee for a week where my DI team came in 8th out of 48 teams worldwide (go us), saw my best friend of 14 years graduate, saw my dad get re-married, and submitted my first college application.

That paragraph had no point, I was just taking stock of things.

Anyway, readers, I have a message for you that I put at the end of the chapter (partly for dramatic effect and partly because nobody but me reads author's notes)

:o)

So, without even further ado, here is chapter 8.

--------------------

The sound of the ocean soothed him, the crashing of the waves against the deserted shore providing a calming distraction from anything else. A warm breeze ruffled his swim trunks, and he flexed his toes contentedly. He smiled to himself, eyes closed behind his sunglasses, and stretched out fully on the beach chair, releasing a sigh of satisfaction as he placed his hands behind his head.

_This_ he could get used to.

The lingering heat from the setting sun kept him comfortably warm. That, coupled with the constant noise of the waves and the rustle of the leaves of the palm trees was enough to put him to sleep… almost.

Tony's eyes shot open as he was struck by a startling realization: He was not alone.

His training took over and he quickly rolled off the beach chair and ducked down behind it. He instinctively reached for his gun, and was slightly miffed when it wasn't there. Not to be deterred, he scrambled backward to the safety of the tree-line, cursing the fact that they were palm trees, which didn't have any branches handy to use as weapons. His eyes scanned the beach, searching for the source of his unease.

There! In the water! He squinted into the setting sun, crouching as low to the ground as possible, and trying to discern who (or what) exactly was coming towards him from the ocean. The sun backlit the figure, casting it into shadow. As it moved closer to him and further onto the shore, it began to take shape. His eyes widened, and without thinking about the consequences, he slid his sunglasses down his nose to get a better look at what he had clearly identified as a decidedly female shape.

Wincing from the suddenly harsh light, he hurriedly replaced the sunglasses, and eagerly trotted across the beach to meet the woman rising from the water.

"Hey there," he called across the decreasing distance between them. "I'm Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and I wanted to ask you a few questions… about what a stunning young woman like yourself is doing in the ocean without a Navy-certified guide."

"Christ Tony, haven't we been through this enough?"

"Ohhh, it's you," he said, disappointed. "Kate, why are you here on _my _vacation?"

"_Your _vacation? Tony, following me to this island to hit on me does not make it your vacation." She crossed her arms, shifting slightly as the waves lapped around their ankles.

"Following you? Ha! I booked my flight here weeks… ago." He frowned, puzzled.

"What?" Kate dried herself with a towel.

"It's just weird… I don't… I don't remember booking a flight… or getting here. I don't really remember anything about this island before just a few minutes ago."

Kate stopped toweling her hair for a moment to look at him. "Neither do I."

"And Kate… where'd you get that towel?"

She held it away from her, staring at it. "I… I don't know! I just… sort of had it."

"Like with you? In the ocean?"

"Well obviously not Tony or it would be wet, don't you think?" Her tone was one of exasperation. "I wanted a towel… and I had one."

There was silence. Tony rested his sunglasses on top of his head, and then closed his eyes, his face contorting in concentration. He opened his eyes again and cheered aloud. "Yes!" In one hand was a beer bottle, and in the other was a chilled glass. He poured the beer, then looked around, frowning, before closing his eyes again. He dropped the bottle in a trash can that had suddenly appeared to his left.

Kate looked shocked. "What the hell is going on here?"

"I don't know, Katie, but why question a good thing, huh?" He grinned widely and closed his eyes yet again. He opened them, and the grin faded off his face. "Huh…"

"What?"

"You still have your top on. Oh well, guess you can't control other people on Magic Island, but that's not a problem!" Kate smacked him in the chest as he quickly blinked, and a tall blonde appeared, naked and smiling.

Kate threw her arms up. "Do you _really _think now is the time for this?" She narrowed her eyes, and the blonde disappeared.

"Hey! Don't mess with my vacation!" He got almost nose to nose with Kate, and narrowed his eyes, and the blonde reappeared off to the side. Kate leaned in even closer, and the blonde disappeared again. She reappeared. Disappeared. Reappeared. Disappeared. Kate grabbed Tony's shoulders with both hands.

"Tony! Don't you think there's something a little strange about all this? How realistic is it for you to be able to snap your fingers and have a woman's clothes fall off?" He grinned and opened his mouth to say something but Kate cut him off. "Don't answer that. Look, you said you don't remember coming to this island, and neither do I. Now close your eyes. Think hard, Tony." She shook him slightly by the shoulders she still held on to. "What's the last thing you remember? And so help me, if that blonde comes back…"

"If it were anyone else, I would've made a brunette and a redhead, but for you Katie, I'll think." All joking left his face as he accepted the seriousness of the situation, closed his eyes, and struggled to remember. "I see… Gibbs… at his desk. You're at yours."

"And you're at yours." Kate had closed her eyes too. "Gibbs' phone rings. He answers it."

"He talks for a few minutes before he hangs up. We've got a case." Tony subconsciously placed his hands similarly on Kate's shoulders. "Now we're on a plane. We land."

"It's cold. I hate it."

"There's a cabin. A ski resort?"

"Yeah. Dead marine on vacation."

"Gibbs sends us up the mountain to interview the lift attendant."

"Gibbs sends _me _up the mountain," Kate corrected, somewhat bitterly. "You volunteered to accompany me."

"The ski lift gets stuck. I jump off, but you're too scared, so, in a stroke of genius, I trick you into coming down after me."

"We're trying to stay ahead of the storm by going to one of the cabins. The murderer's already there. You get shot!" Their speech became rapid as they remembered more and more detail in a frenzy of information.

"You save me. The murderer runs out into the storm."

"There's an avalanche."

"We're losing heat."

"You're sick."

"You're freezing to death."

"_We're_ freezing to death!"

They both recoiled as their foreheads came together, and all the details became clear. Kate was the first to speak, and it came out slightly panicked. "What is this, a dream? Or some… shared hallucination?!? Oh god, what if we're dead? Is this heaven? Why are we the only ones here? Are we stuck in some sort of purgatory?" She'd begun to pace back and forth in the water and gesticulate with her hands.

Tony stood in silence as she continued, thinking about one small detail that Kate wouldn't have remembered, that was staggering in its own right… he loved her. And he'd realized it just before they'd both… what? Died? Passed out? Was _now_ a good time to tell her? Of course, this couldn't be real, so what would he be losing by telling her? He might feel better at least. But what if she rejected him? How pathetic would that be, to be rejected in your own dream?

He silenced his thoughts to focus on the object of his dilemma, who was just finishing up her own, more public rant. "… haven't even been to church in years!" She turned to him helplessly. "What are we going to do?"

He felt just as helpless. "I don't know."

She took a deep breath in… and then lost it again. "I mean for god's sake, Tony, what the hell is this?" She resumed pacing and gesturing. "We can't really be dead. We're too young to die! And not like that! I mean _maybe _if we went out in a blaze of glory and a hail of bullets, but freezing to death in some cabin?!? I don't know what to do Tony! I just…"

"Hey, come here…" He halted her pacing and pulled her to his chest. He wrapped his arms around her.

"I don't know what to do," she repeated, softly, into his chest. "I always know what to do. But I don't know what to do with death."

"We might not be dead," he said hopefully. "We're… we're sleeping. And sharing a dream. That happens sometimes, right?"

She laughed appreciatively. "Sure."

They lapsed into a few moments of comfortable silence, each of them trying to deal with the idea of their deaths.

"Well," he said, "if we are dying, we might as well make the best of it." She looked at him quizzically, then laughed as she saw his latest apparition: a blanket on the sand, and a tiki-themed bar, complete with a bartender.

"You're right," she said, her voice thick with emotion. She finally released him, and cleared her throat. "Barkeep! Make me a mai tai."

-o-o-o-A few hours later-o-o-o-

Tony was trying to speak, gasping the words out between fits of laughter. "So then she said, 'That's no monkey, that's my new hat!'"

Kate snorted, holding her stomach and practically rolling with laughter. Their laughter eventually subsided into giggles, smattered with chuckles and the occasional guffaw.

They lay side by side on the blanket, staring up at the stars and listening to the waves.

"You know," Kate said, her words sounding almost drowsy. "Maybe if this is death, I can deal with it." She looked over at him and smiled.

"Yeah," Tony said, grinning back, sharing the same sleepy quality in his voice. "No kidding." He instinctively reached out, touching her face gently with his fingertips. His hand fell back to his side, and they returned to gazing at the stars.

The sun had set long ago, and had taken its heat with it. Kate sighed contentedly. "I think I like Magic Island." She giggled. "Even if it is getting a little chilly."

Tony's thoughts immediately returned to that one, tiny little revelation that he had failed to share with Kate.

"Kate," he said, still staring upwards. "There's something else I remember about the cabin." He slurred his words a little.

"What is it?" Her words were beginning to run together as well.

"I love you Kate." There was silence.

"I think… I love you too Tony." She used all the energy she could muster to roll over lay her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, and closed his eyes, feeling truly, completely happy. He could feel himself drifting, as could Kate. It was kind of a nice, peaceful feeling.

Suddenly, he was tugged back toward reality. "Kate," he muttered. "Do you hear that?"

"That scraping?" she asked, without opening her eyes. "Yeah."

"Oh, okay." He began to drift again.

"Kate! Tony!" Gibbs' harsh voice barked at them, bringing them back yet again.

"Even in death he won't leave us alone," Tony mumbled. Kate giggled.

Suddenly it was cold. Not just sun-went-down-on-our-tropical-island cold, like mountain cabin cold. Tony gasped and opened his eyes. He could see the roof of the cabin, and Gibbs stern face. "You with me, DiNozzo?"

"Yeah," his eyes fluttered. "Where's Kate?"

Gibbs' face softened. "She's right here."

He looked to his left, and saw Kate lying on a stretcher similar to the one he was on. She was looking back at him, and smiled as they made eye contact. They were wheeled out to a waiting helicopter, and after their stretchers were secured and the chopper was in the air, she reached her hand out to him. He grasped it securely.

"I'm glad… you're okay," he rasped.

"Really had… you going there… didn't I?"

He laughed. "Yep… you win."

It was only a week later, after they'd been released from the hospital, that they attempted to discuss what had happened. Kate was the first to address it, during a quiet moment at the office. She stopped in front of his desk.

"Tony… What do you remember about… right before we were rescued?"

He stood up nervously. "Umm… I… was having a really weird dream… I think." He looked at her hopefully.

"Yeah, me too," she said, relieved.

"So that's what we're going with, right? A dream?"

"Yeah," she said, grinning. "I can live with that."

He grinned back, and hesitated a moment before leaning across the desk and kissing her gently on the lips.

She looked shocked. "What was that for?"

For only the third time since she'd known him, Tony was staggered. "I… the… dream we had!"

She maintained her shocked look. "I had a dream about standing up to Gibbs, what the hell are you talking about?"

Tony was at a loss. Kate's face broke into yet another grin.

"Kidding… I'm kidding!" She laughed at the look on his face, and leaned across to kiss him, but he backed away.

"Ohhh no, you have to earn it now!"

"Come on, please?" She stepped around the desk.

"Well… all right." He enveloped her in his arms and kissed her passionately.

"DiNozzo! Todd! This is an office!" Gibbs breezed through the bullpen.

Tony stepped back, muttering as he did so. "Even in death."

Kate laughed, and returned to her desk.

--------------------

To the readers:

Everyone who's reviewed this story has been absolutely beyond amazing in terms of support, patience, and all-around wonderfulness. I would like to thank you all, from the bottom of my sadly-Tate-free soul. You guys are why I write (no matter how sporadically) and I hope that you will find time to check out the occasional story of mine in the future.

And to those who only read, you made my hit counter go up, which always makes me smile, so thanks to you too!

AND!!! Most important thing in this chapter: NCIS, Seasons 1 and 2 are out on DVD! I just wanted to share.

Thank you so very much for reading!

P.S. I know it was kind of a corny idea for the chapter, but I'd love to know what you think anyway. Please review.

P.P.S. These past few days as I mulled over chapter 8, several new Tate ideas popped into my head. Maybe now that I have the first season, I'll be re-inspired. I don't want to have a repeat of this story where I never updated, so if I do write them, they will be finished before I post them.

Thank you again!


End file.
